


Swimming Pool

by KZDipped



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: A prequel of sorts, I mean really why would that have changed, Tord is still kind of a jerk, WTFuture, chill time with Tom and Tord, how do Tom's eyes even work, plain and simple, pure angst, until it's not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 06:45:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8361613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KZDipped/pseuds/KZDipped
Summary: And I'm holding my breath for you.
Prequel to WTFuture





	

“Can’t sleep?” 

Tom glanced up from his seat on his bed, sheets rumpled around him and papers spread across the heaped mess. “Guess not. You?” 

“Would I be here if I could?” 

“True.” He cleared a few papers away, making space for his… Acquaintance? To sit down. “Ignore the mess, just working on… You know.” 

The red-clad leader picked up one of the pages, a newspaper clipping from several weeks ago detailing the specifics of a certain group of rebels. One name was circled in dark green marker. Similar papers were gathered nearby. “Find any new leads?” 

Tom ran a hand through his already ruffled hair, exasperated sigh escaping his lips. “No. Of course not. And honestly, if you couldn’t find him, why do you think I could?” 

“Technically, you lived with him longer, and to be honest, he’d listen to you over me. If anyone’s going to recruit him, it will be you.” 

“Recruit? I’d be happy if he just didn’t resist us anymore, I don’t want him mixed up in this.” 

The leader laughed, setting the paper down. “I’d settle for that. Just so long as he’s not in danger, right now I can’t guarantee anything and it’s making me hold back. Our offensive isn’t as strong as it once was.” 

“Maybe that’s a good thing.” Tom shrugged, frowning at a page in his hand before setting it to the side and gazing at the visitor, green light from his visor casting a strange shade on the man. “We’re not making as quick progress, to be sure, but civilian casualties are dramatically plummeting, and we’re still ahead.” 

He nodded, glancing towards the open door, the only other source of light in the room. “Yes, but at the same time… I would like this to end.” 

“Really?! But what would the great Red Leader do, if not fight?” Tom laughed, a slight bitterness seeping through the sarcasm. “I can’t really imagine you settling down.” 

“It’s still going to be a military based government, I’m not exactly going to step down from my role. I’m thinking something along dictatorship, with a few minor tweaks.” A page slipped off the bed, and he leaned down to pick it up, staring at it blankly for a moment. “Why is this in the file?” He held it up; it was the news release from three years ago, detailing the ‘tragedy’ that had befallen a city block, as a bomb being flown over by Red Army had been accidentally released, detonating and killing anyone within the perimeter of the blast. A list of presumed dead lay next to the news column, and printed there rather small was a certain ‘Thomas Edgedren’. 

Tom took the sheet, glancing at it with an uncaring expression, then setting it aside. “He still doesn’t know I’m alive.” 

“No. He doesn’t. I’m guessing that bothers you?” 

“Of course it does, is that really surprising? He knows you’re fine, more than fine, and at least with Matt they just fell out of contact. But he actually believes I’m dead. And that it’s your fault. Both things I’m not exactly pleased with.” 

The commander was quiet for a moment, unsure of how to reassure his comrade. “We’ll find him. And when we do you’ll be the first to meet with him.” 

“Is that really so great though? What if he doesn’t want anything to do with me? Especially considering I’m working for you.” 

“He doesn’t know that now. There’s no way he could.” 

“But he will, and when he finds out…” Tom swept several piles of paper together, knocking several more to the floor in the process. “I’m not sure I want to be there when he does.” 

“You’re not giving Edd enough credit. His most annoying feature was how trusting he was, and so eager to give anyone a second chance. Probably why he welcomed me back after six years without even asking for an explanation.” Silence for a moment, as the pair remembered that day. “He’s just going to be happy to see you.” 

“People change.” Tom offered no other explanation, and Tord didn’t ask for one. They sat in silence for a moment, Tom separating out some of the other papers and stacking them more carefully. The clock on the wall ticked softly, and time continued on, irregardless of the two leaders’ unwillingness to move forward. 

A siren’s wailing disturbed them presently, flicking on the emergency lights overhead, and as a squad of soldiers thundered past (half of them still in their pyjamas, jackets half pulled on and guns in their hands), one stopped by the open door and shouted, “Sirs! The lab has been broken into by a group of resistance operatives!” 

Tom swore under his breath, a Norwegian oath he had picked up just recently. “Put the lab on lockdown, I’ll take my squad in and several other soldiers, Red here can pick them out. The rest of you, sweep the base for any other enemy soldiers.” The recruit nodded, and with a hurried salute sped off down the hall. Tom turned to his opposite. “Shall we?” 

“…Yes. Let’s go.” Tord, although barely anyone knew him by that name now, stood up and headed outside, as Tom quickly put away the file’s contents and grabbed his gun from the dresser, an experimental weapon similar to those his soldiers also used. The idea behind his team, Blue Squad, was that all the members would have particular resistance to usually toxic substances, such as radiation or poison, even burns to a certain degree. That way if there ever was a situation, such as this one, that could potentially cause unnecessary risk in those areas, his squad could be sent in to defuse the situation. Unfortunately, there were a lot of unstable projects in the lab, any of which the intruders could be after, and that would prove deadly to many people very quickly. Hopefully, Tom thought as he sped down the hall approaching the lab, they could catch the enemy quickly before they broke anything. 

His soldiers were already waiting at the sealed door when he arrived, each with the black and white checked oval marked on their guns and jackets. Tom nodded as he approached, noting the several regular soldiers in the back, fidgeting nervously. “We’ll split up once we’re inside, it’s a fairly big area and we need to cover it quickly. Partner up and take a section, and for our newcomers, make sure you’re paired with someone from Blue Squad and you’ll be fine. I’ll take the vault on my own, there are some particularly unstable substances in there as well as some top secret projects, so Red Leader doesn’t want anyone else down there. Any questions?” There was a general negatory mutter, and Tom unlocked the sealed door, motioning the recruits inside. “Let’s get in and out quickly, I want to go back to bed.” A few nervous laughs, and the soldiers disappeared inside the dimmed lab, illuminated only by emergency lights and still wailing alarms. Tom broke off from the group after only a few steps, heading down a dim hallway to the vault door. Immediately he noticed the open blast door. Hurrying over, he checked the keypad; it was glowing green, meaning that the correct code had been entered. That was strange; even if it had been hacked, it wouldn’t turn green like that. And not many people could guess the code, it would have had to be someone who knew Tord personally. He shrugged it off; Tord must’ve written it down somewhere like an idiot, and the enemy got hold of it somehow. Still… This meant that whoever broke in was fairly well prepared. All the more reason to find them, and fast. 

He headed further into the lab, taking the safety off his blaster, a prototype weapon meant to stun instantly and almost painlessly. Shielding his eyes slightly, he cursed the bright green glow of his ‘eyes’. So far attempts at a dim setting had been unsuccessful, and it was definitely a tactical disadvantage to be so obviously visible. It would be worse if he couldn’t see at all however, so he’d have to work around it. 

A distant clang of a lock breaking attracted his attention; and of course, it was coming straight from the project vault. He sped up, ducking behind a shelf unit and peering around at the intruder. They were bent over in front of the lockbox containing (and here Tom inwardly rolled his eyes at Tord for keeping this in such an obvious place) a time machine, completely finished and ready for use. The intruder, who in the dim light Tom believed must be a man, pulled out the handheld device and stood up. He wore a long trench coat with a tall collar, scruffy brown hair sticking up overtop. He turned, and Tom nearly dropped his gun. The man was unmistakeable, even though his face needed a shave and the hoodie beneath his coat was long faded from the bright green it once was. A blaster of peculiar design, oddly familiar but at the same time completely alien, was strapped to his waist, barely visible under his jacket. He gazed at the device, an accomplished expression gracing his face. 

Tom stood up, a little too suddenly, and without hesitation the intruder whipped out his gun and shot in his direction. Tom leapt forwards, rolling under the blast, and knocking him to the ground, blaster skidding across the linoleum. The intruder pushed Tom off, scrambling to find his gun, until Tom called out, “Edd, wait!” 

Edd stopped, leaving the blaster for now and allowing Tom to stand. “How do you know my name? You’re not Red Leader.” His voice was raspier than Tom remembered. 

“No, I’m… Edd, don’t tell me you forgot about me already?” 

He was quiet for a moment, then relaxed, confusion but happiness obvious. “Tom?! I thought you were dead! How, where… It doesn’t matter. What happened to your eyes?” 

Tom touched the visor self-consciously. “Accident. It was a long time ago, I’m fine. But Edd, what are you doing?” 

“I’m going to fix this, everything. And I know how.” Edd looked down at the time machine happily, strapping it to his wrist and gazing at the controls. “It’ll be so easy, and everything will go back to how it should be! No Red Army, no Red Leader… You and Matt will be fine, and Tord will never have gone back for that robot…” 

“Edd, you’re not making any sense. And anyway, messing with the timeline can cause uncalculatable repercussions, time travel is not the answer.” Tom took a step closer, and Edd noticed the gun in his hand at that moment. 

“Tom… Why are you here?” 

“Edd…” 

“How could you find me, especially here, unless…” Edd stepped back, suddenly understanding. “You joined Tord?!” 

“Edd, it’s not that simple!” This was not how Tom had wanted this conversation to go. 

“Of course it isn’t, are you kidding me?! Why would you do that? You of all people! And you didn’t even tell me you were alive…” 

“I couldn’t! It would have been super suspicious, it was easier for me to work if I was assumed dead, and by the time I could contact you you were gone!” 

“Yeah, because I was alone.” Edd leaned down and picked up his blaster, and now Tom recognized it as the one they had picked up off that spaceship so many years ago. “I gave up hope. Until now. I’m going to fix this, don’t worry. I’ll stop Tord, and you guys… I’ll fix this. Bye Tom.” 

Tom realized what Edd was about to do a second too late. “Edd, stop-“ But Edd had already vanished, time machine set in motion. 

Tom stood in place for a moment, hand outstretched to the spot where his old friend had just vanished. His hand shook for a moment; then fell to his pocket, pulling out a radio. “All units withdraw, the intruder has escaped.” He waited to hear the general assent from his crew as they spread the message: then flicked a button on the side, switching to a private channel. “Tord.” 

“Blue, what’s up? I heard you recall the-“ 

“It was Edd.” 

Silence. “What did he do?” 

“Took the time machine, said he’s going to fix the timeline and get rid of Red Army.” 

“You sound upset.” 

“He took the time machine, and we don’t know when or where in time he is.” Tom paused for a moment, then continued, “Actually I do know, I remember this. You don’t happen to be hiding another time machine, do you?”

**Author's Note:**

> Just a one-shot :)
> 
> ~~I don't headcanon that Tom lost his eyes to cancer, why on earth would he tell his past self what actually happened, that'd be all sorts of time paradox-y stupid~~


End file.
